Support NeoGAF

[biosnake20]

The Proposal

NYT

The goal is for Americans to limit added sugar to no more than 10 percent of daily calories, according to the proposed guidelines. For someone older than 3, that means eating no more than 12.5 teaspoons, or 50 grams, of it a day.

That’s about the same amount of sugar found in a can of Coke, but for most people, giving up sugary soft drinks will not be enough to meet the recommendations. Caloric sweeteners like sugar, honey and high-fructose corn syrup are found in obvious places like sodas, cookies and candy — but they are also lurking in foods with health appeal, like low-fat yogurt, granola and wholegrain breads, as well as in ketchup, pasta sauce, canned fruit and prepared soups, salad dressings and marinades.

“There is a lot of hidden sugar in our food supply, and it’s not just in sweets,” said Dr. Frank Hu, a member of the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee and a professor of nutrition and epidemiology at Harvard.

Currently, nutrition labels on food packaging reveal only the total amount of sugar in a product. The F.D.A. has said it wants to change the labels to help consumers distinguish between the amount of naturally occurring sugar and the amount of added sugar.

 

[eddie4]

that's pretty sweet.

 

[sixteen-bit]

Fun Diminishing Administration

 

[McDougles]

Guess the lobbyists' checks didn't clear.

 

[titiklabingapat]

12.5 teaspoon still seems like a lot.

V a calorie is a calorie to a certain extent but other studies have shown that the type of calorie you consume can also affect your metabolism.

 

[HUELEN10]

The F.D.A. has said it wants to change the labels to help consumers distinguish between the amount of naturally occurring sugar and the amount of added sugar.

But...

Isn't sugar sugar? I mean, a calorie is a calorie, right?

 

[Dennis]

Here is a recommendation: avoid adding sugar to your food.

Want something sweet? Eat a piece of fruit.

 

[Maninthemirror]

12.5 teaspoon still seems like a lot.

1 Can of Coke has 10 teaspoons.

 

[Funky Papa]

50 grams is still a fuckton of sugar.

 

[entremet]

12.5 teaspoon still seems like a lot.

That's a huge improvement, though.

For reference a can of coke (roughly speaking since it's using Corn Syrup) has 10 teaspoons of sugar.

 

[McDougles]

Isn't sugar sugar? I mean, a calorie is a calorie, right?

A calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight loss and gain. Nutritionally, a gram of artificial sugar is absolute shit compared to natural fruit and vegetable sugar.

 

[SimleuqiR]

Fun Diminishing Administration

More like Fatality Deterrent Administration.

 

[adj_noun]

I should probably rethink my candy coated bacon.

 

[Davey Cakes]

Here is a recommendation: avoid adding sugar to your food.

Want something sweet? Eat a piece of fruit.

Also, read food labels of anything containing sugar.

There are bottled drinks with >40g of sugar per bottle. And you could drink them down in a minute.

I try to separate sugary treats as indulgences and try to avoid adding sugar to my meals and snacks. That said, sugar is hard to avoid. It's in everything these days.

 

[Max_Po]

What you see as Sugar on Label is the problem.

"Corn Syrup"

 

[entremet]

The F.D.A. has said it wants to change the labels to help consumers distinguish between the amount of naturally occurring sugar and the amount of added sugar.

But...

Isn't sugar sugar? I mean, a calorie is a calorie, right?

Yes and no.

There are many things involved than simple calories.

For example, it is satiating? If not, you're gonna eat more calories or an excess of calories.

 

[idlewild_]

"added sugar", so not fruit or naturally sweet things?

 

[internetwolf]

"added sugar", so not fruit or naturally sweet things?

I'd like to know this

 

[titiklabingapat]

"added sugar", so not fruit or naturally sweet things?

You can't really overeat fruits. Those things have a lot more fiber and water in them that you'll be bloated to before reaching an equivalent amount of calories compared to a liter of Coke.

 

[The Lamp]

The F.D.A. has said it wants to change the labels to help consumers distinguish between the amount of naturally occurring sugar and the amount of added sugar.

But...

Isn't sugar sugar? I mean, a calorie is a calorie, right?

Added sugar is usually fructose, which is toxic, so if people can see how much sugar was added, they can have a better idea for how much fructose is added to their food. Maybe that's why. I don't know.

 

[bennywhatever]

"added sugar", so not fruit or naturally sweet things?

Fruit is not included. However, fruit juice is absolutely included.
Vegetables are not included. Vegetable-flavored things are absolutely included.


I'm curious about Honey, though. That seems pretty all-natural to me.

 

[Davey Cakes]

Anything with "high fructose corn syrup" as the first or second ingredient needs to GTFO.

I also hate how added sugar is entirely unnecessary to make things taste better, yet it's there anyway. A can of tomato sauce that has 2g per serving of natural sugar from the tomatoes tastes better than a can of tomato sauce with 8-9g of sugar per serving, which is probably 7g added.

Of course, the stuff without the added sugar is double the price. Just, WTF?

 

[Ray Wonder]

50 grams is still a fuckton of sugar.

Like one snickers bar is 27g sugar.

I mean it's a decent amount of sugar, but a fuckton? idk

 

[SpaceWolf]

First you get the sugar. Then you get the power. Then you get the women.

 

[Future PhaZe]

so no soda ever basically

 

[balladofwindfishes]

so no soda ever basically

Which people should be striving for anyway.

 

[Darg]

Anything with "high fructose corn syrup" as the first or second ingredient needs to GTFO.

I also hate how added sugar is entirely unnecessary to make things taste better, yet it's there anyway. A can of tomato sauce that has 2g per serving of natural sugar from the tomatoes tastes better than a can of tomato sauce with 8-9g of sugar per serving, which is probably 7g added.

Of course, the stuff without the added sugar is double the price. Just, WTF?

Reminds me of unnecessary amounts of sodium (i guess we all know why some foods have a ton of them in it). Tasted drinks with much much less sugar than the norm and they did indeed taste better than something loaded with sugar to the max.

 

[Funky Papa]

Like one snickers bar is 27g sugar.

I mean it's a decent amount of sugar, but a fuckton? idk

Daily wise? It absolutely is.

 

[diffusionx]

Just the basic acknowledgement that Coke is not in fact replacement for water, and is really a sugary treat like a cookie, is a big step up.

 

[God Dayumm]

Fruit is not included. However, fruit juice is absolutely included.
Vegetables are not included. Vegetable-flavored things are absolutely included.


I'm curious about Honey, though. That seems pretty all-natural to me.

It doesn't matter if it's natural. Fructose is fructose , but at least honey is not empty calories, and fruit has a lot of benefits too. Still these should be counted towards a 50g limit consumption of sugar

 

[daveo42]

All veggies should be fine, but that veggie list should only be vegetables. Potatoes, corn, and other starchy vegetables shouldn't be included. Most fruits should be fine too outside of sugar-dense fruits like raisins.

You can't really overeat vegetables and should actually take priority over eating fruits.

Fruit is not included. However, fruit juice is absolutely included.
Vegetables are not included. Vegetable-flavored things are absolutely included.


I'm curious about Honey, though. That seems pretty all-natural to me.

Not sure if joking or...

Is there a sugar daddy?

FTFY

 

[NoblesseOblige]

Guess the lobbyists' checks didn't clear.

Is there a sugar lobby?

 

[ampere]

Like one snickers bar is 27g sugar.

Which is pretty crazy to think about. A Snickers bar is total 52.7g and 27g are sugar. That is a tad over 50% sugar. So imagine instead of a candy bar you are eating a block of sugar and some peanuts/cocoa

so no soda ever basically

It can be a hard transition, but I def recommend no soda ever. Once you get used to not drinking it you won't want it as much either.

 

[diffusionx]

Is there a sugar lobby?

Are you kidding?

http://www.sugar.org/

They were also trying to get HFCS renamed to "corn sugar" not that long ago.

Remember this stuff is big in Iowa, which has an outsized influence on politics. This feels like Obama trying to get work done before his administration wraps up.

 

[Skeyser]

Daily wise? It absolutely is.

It might be a fuckton, but compared to how much sugar the average person consume in a day, it's not much. 50g would be a big improvement already.

 

[User 479360]

Wish I could hold to that. I eat double or more.

 

[NoblesseOblige]

Are you kidding?

http://www.sugar.org/

They were also trying to get HFCS renamed to "corn sugar" not that long ago.

Remember this stuff is big in Iowa, which has an outsized influence on politics. This feels like Obama trying to get work done before his administration wraps up.

No, I wasn't. That's why I asked. Food lobbies don't really get much clearance in my radar.

 

[Ray Wonder]

Daily wise? It absolutely is.

I guess it's relative to how you live your life style, and your daily eating habits because it's definitely not some crazy amount of sugar.

I had two cups of coffee this morning. 2 tsps of sugar in each. 16 grams.

I had a salad and a pretty big orange for lunch. Around 17 grams

I didn't eat breakfast today, nor did I have dinner. I have to fit both of those in 17 grams of sugar.

EDIT: Upped my lunch by 2 grams for having light italian dressing.

 

[BriGuy]

I don't know if my sense of taste is changing as I get older or if there is more sugar in food these days, but I definitely notice things taste sweeter now. I tried a bite-sized Snickers bar we had left over from Halloween and had to spit it out because it was disgustingly sweet. I'm not a huge candy person, but I remember there was a time when these things were at least palatable.

 

[Spartacus]

Suger is poison, so it's a good thing people get better information. 50g is still a lot, but I imagine with us size meals it is still quite a task to stay under that amount.
And there isn't much difference between natural sugars and added sugar, both are bad, the form (liquid or solid) has also a lot to do with how your body reacts to it.

 

[InfiniteBento]

I work in pastry so I guess I'm fucked.

 

[0.1.1.2.3.5.8.13.21.34.55]

still double what the WHO recommends.
gotta love the sugar lobby, they've still got a piece of the FDA in their pocket.

 

[Scrooged]

A calorie is a calorie when it comes to weight loss and gain. Nutritionally, a gram of artificial sugar is absolute shit compared to natural fruit and vegetable sugar.

I mean, if you're comparing pure sugar to a fruit, of course the fruit is more nutritious. But the sugar in the fruit is just...sugar. The main thing to keep in mind is the total amount of sugar you intake in a day. If you keep to fruits instead of candies and other stuff with added sugar, you're more likely to avoid eating more sugar overall.

But it's kind of a myth that 'natural' sugar in the form of fruits and honey is inherently better than sugar that's added to foods. Fruits have both fructose and sucrose, just like table sugar.

 

[Dennis]

I work in pastry so I guess I'm fucked.

Don't eat the merchandise.

 

[Ray Wonder]

Which is pretty crazy to think about. A Snickers bar is total 52.7g and 27g are sugar. That is a tad over 50% sugar. So imagine instead of a candy bar you are eating a block of sugar and some peanuts/cocoa

I don't eat candy ever nor drink soda, but still it's not hard to go over 50g a day.

But yeah it is pretty crazy how much is in a snickers bar. That's not even the worst one.. At least it has some nuts in it.

 

[ampere]

I don't eat candy ever nor drink soda, but still it's not hard to go over 50g a day.

But yeah it is pretty crazy how much is in a snickers bar. That's not even the worst one.. At least it has some nuts in it.

They're saying added sugars, so I don't think stuff like fruit would count. I admit that I don't keep good enough track to know if I go over 50g a day or not.

 

[Ray Wonder]

They're saying added sugars, so I don't think stuff like fruit would count. I admit that I don't keep good enough track to know if I go over 50g a day or not.

It has to count right? If I ate 10 oranges a day that would be awful for me. lol

 

[GregLombardi]

I have always wondered why sugar didn't have a % daily value. I assumed it had to do with lobbying, because the way I feel after eating sugar implies it is not very good for me.

 

[JustenP88]

Sugar will be the death of us all.

 

[0.1.1.2.3.5.8.13.21.34.55]

So imagine instead of a candy bar you are eating a block of sugar and some peanuts/cocoa

& think of soda like this